How can we help to end FGM within a generation?

One of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a disruption to numerous international and national health programs, including the one to end female genital mutilation (FGM).

United Nations health officials fear an additional two million cases of FGM will have occurred by 2030 which would have otherwise been averted. School closures also mean that many girls are isolated and more vulnerable to FGM.

To stop the harmful practice, the United Nations created the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, observed every year on February 6. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals also call to end the practice by 2030.

While advances are being made to change the culture around FGM in many countries, it is estimated that 3 million girls are at risk every year. The practice is illegal in many countries, including the UK, but the stigma around talking about FGM means that laws are not always known about, understood or enforced.

Many charities are working towards the ambitious goal of ending the practice of FGM within a generation, and you may be wondering: what you can do on a practical level to help end this damaging practice?

So, the team at Miles & Partners have compiled a list of websites where you can find out more information, and projects which need financial support if you would like to make a donation.

Sources of information

• World Health Organisation
• United Nations
• Unicef
• The NHS
• National FGM Centre
• FGM Network
• NSPCC

Charities with projects to end FGM

• 28 Too Many
• Action Aid
• Dahlia Project
• FORWARD (Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development)
• Orchid Project
• Plan International
• Save the Children
• Women’s Health & Family Services in Tower Hamlets
• World Vision

Miles & Partners has a team of solicitors with experience in cases involving FGM.  Click here for more information on our credentials regarding female genital mutilation cases.

The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.